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Monday, April 4, 2011

Waiting In Silence

Me: I'm just so frustrated. I'm tired of dealing with this...

Other person: But God is doing something. It may take some time...

I'm not a patient person. I've never claimed to be. Patience seems to be the fruit of the spirit that eludes me. Hurry up and Now are standards in my daily rhetoric. If there's something to be learned, I want to learn it, apply it and move on.

Unfortunately, God doesn't work on my timetable. In fact, to Him a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. My mind can't comprehend that.

So what's a girl to do when God doesn't work as quickly as she wants? How do I deal with the matter at hand when moving on doesn't seem to be an option? I know the answer. It's one that comes to mind frequently. But knowing it and doing it are worlds apart:

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. (Psalm 62:5)

And there in that verse are the two things that cut me to the core: wait, silence. I don't like waiting, and I don't like silence. I think of David, the author of this Psalm. Was he like me? Was it difficult for David to pen those words, to live them? Obviously, he liked to use words because he wrote so many. Obviously, he acted impulsively, and patience was not his greatest asset. Yet in this verse, we see his submission to God's timetable. Not only that, but we also see his willingness to wait in silence for God alone.

I won't deny that lessons including waiting and silence are difficult for me. Those lessons usually keep me frustrated because I want to see the end result. But, like David, I will remind myself, my soul, to wait...and to wait in silence...knowing that my hope is in God alone. I must trust that He is at work, that His ways are higher than mine, that He is working for my good and His glory.

Waiting and trusting in silence for God alone...difficult words for a Monday morning, don't you think?

1 comment:

Silence is good sometimes, it is peaceful, it is in the moments of teaching where we listen and we learn. Waiting is good, it brings trust and anticipation of what is to come. I will pray with and for you in whatever you are dealing with. Take care as you wait on the Lord.